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Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom: a book club kit
Where it comes from. The Fante people of Ghana tell this Anansi story. W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair wrote it down in 1917.
In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). Anansi the spider holds all the wisdom in the world, and when people stop thanking him he gathers it into a clay pot to hide at the top of a tall tree. The pot hangs in front of him and he cannot climb. His son Kweku Tsin calls out to hang it on his back, the pot falls and breaks, and wisdom spreads to everyone.
The lesson, in one line. Nobody has all the wisdom, and anyone, even a child, may teach you something.
Reading plan, by the story's parts. Meeting 1: Part One, “The Wisest Spider” and Part Two, “The Clay Pot”, pages 1–6 (about 4 minutes aloud); Meeting 2: Part Three, “The Tallest Tree” and Part Four, “A Simple Idea” and Part Five, “Everybody's Wisdom”, pages 7–14 (about 5 minutes aloud). Each stop's own questions, which never give away what comes next: Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom by chapter.
Questions to talk about
- What is the moral of Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom?
The story's answer: Nobody has all the wisdom in the world, and even a child may know something you do not. Anansi learns it from his own son. - Why does nobody have all the wisdom, in the Anansi story?
The story's answer: Anansi's pot of wisdom fell from his hands and broke on a rock. The wisdom spread out across the world, so everyone got a little piece and no one got it all. - Who is Kweku Tsin?
The story's answer: Kweku Tsin is Anansi's son. He follows his father into the forest and tells him to hang the pot on his back so he can climb the tree. - Where does the story of Anansi and the pot of wisdom come from?
The story's answer: It is a folktale of the Fante people of Ghana in West Africa. It was printed in English in West African Folk-Tales by W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair in 1917. - What does this story tell you about the place it comes from?
Listen for: Food, weather, animals, how people live: anything the story shows. - Does it remind you of another story you know?
Listen for: Many folk tales have cousins in other countries.
Did you know?
- Anansi stories come from the Akan peoples of Ghana, including the Asante and the Fante.
- W. H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair printed this tale in West African Folk-Tales in 1917.
- In that book the tale is called How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race.
Activity: Tell it round the circle
Find where the story comes from on a map. Then retell it, one sentence each, round the circle, without the book.
More to talk about
More facts for the leader
- Anansi's son in this tale is named Kweku Tsin.
- Anansi stories travelled to the Caribbean and the Americas, where he is also called Anancy or Aunt Nancy.
Words to teach before you start
- wisdom: good sense
- advice: helpful ideas
- careless: not thoughtful
- sealed: closed tight
- tremendous: very big
Questions leaders ask
How long does a Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom book club meeting take?
Reading it aloud takes about 9 minutes in all, so plan one meeting of 30 to 45 minutes, with time left for the questions. The reading plan on the sheet says where to stop.
What age is Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom for?
It is written at Peabody level 9, a grade 4 reading level, so most children at that level can read it alone. Younger children can listen to it read aloud.
Do the children need to read it before the meeting?
No. Each child can read it free on Peabody, before the meeting or together at it, and the questions work either way. The sheet's short version gives the ending away, so keep it for the leader.
How do I use the questions?
Start with the story's own questions, which have answers in the leader's notes, then move to the open ones and listen for reasons. There is no wrong answer to an open question. Stop when the group runs out of things to say.
Club kits for stories like this
- The Boy Who Drew Cats (level 9)
- Momotaro, the Peach Boy (level 8)
- Urashima Taro (level 10)
- Yeh-Shen (level 10)
- Aladdin (level 11)
How this kit is made
The short version, the facts and the first questions with their answers are the story's own, written for its page in Peabody's library and checked against the sources named there. The open questions, the activity and the plan are Peabody's, written for this kind of story. No part of it is written by a computer model.
Running the meeting: the meeting plans (30, 45 and 60 minutes) and the sign-up sheet.